Flares
by Akame's Wish
Summary: AU. Canon Divergence. Instead of Aizen betraying the Soul Society, it's a group of obscure beings known as Shibito. But plans start changing when Kasumi, a Shibito, isn't quite caught up with the program. OCx?
1. Chapter One: Return to Karakura

Being back in Karakura Town was like a dream-turned-nightmare.

It was home, regardless of the changes, simply because of the presence of one single person. This person had been her rock throughout the years, the one thought she continuously clung to not matter how time passed. They had grown up together, had played together, had even shared their first kisses with each other for the reason of they knew they would never betray one another. That was the dream. Kurosaki Ichigo was the dream.

The nightmare was the rest of it. Her mother was here, school started and she had classes to attend starting next week, and the Hollows were getting out of control in the area. A few years away hadn't made any of it suddenly impossible or anything so simple. Because if there was one thing her American grandparents had done for her by sending her abroad was give her plenty of time to train the powers she had gained just before she left Karakura Town. And one hell of an education in terms of street smart and survival.

She was resting along the banks of the river, keeping to herself, when she first felt it. The reiatsu of what she originally thought was a Shinigami. It was overwhelming considering the distance between the two of them, but she had learned to recognize this person's reiatsu after long, long nights of keeping up with him. Her initial arrival had been weeks ago, long before she was due, and she sought him out under the guise of night. Ichigo's reiatsu became familiar, and so she was rather surprised when it spiked in the middle of the afternoon for no apparent reason she could think of.

And he just so happened to be nearby.

"Now, I could get up and go to him... or I could stay on this river bank until the sun goes down and grab some ice cream on my way home," Takahashi Kasumi murmured to herself with little indulgence to do either. She was relaxed, for once, but this had become too normal for her. Kasumi was used to change. She hadn't even changed her room, with the exception of the first night she returned to it, and this easy settlement into a schedule was irritating her deep beneath her skin.

She had been to many countries during her grandparents' tireless rampage to have her act the way they wanted her to. Her great great grandfather had been an immigrant to America shortly before World War II, and it was in the Japanese internment camps he met her great great grandmother, a white woman who had her own ideals separate from her Irish-Catholic family. She was constantly roaming the grounds near the edge of the "territory" as he had taken to calling it in his journals, so he had plenty of time to see her and fall in love with her. Then she birthed her grandmother, who was every bit as stubborn as she and twice as fierce. She managed to pick up a Japanese man well on his way to being rich, and she was pissed when Kasumi's father decided to return to his homeland of Karakura Town. She was double pissed when he fell in love with Kasumi's mother.

She was triple pissed when Kasumi was born.

So every time Kasumi was beginning to settle in and know her surroundings, her grandmother would rip her from the place and put her somewhere it was. It was like a never ending interior decorating was taking place, and Kasumi was the room being decorated. "Oh, I don't like too much French influence, let's place her in Germany." "I think she's had enough of this Spanish school, perhaps Korea would be a good place for." Kasumi sucked it up and sucked it up until she snapped and demanded to be placed back into Karakura Town. There were only so many times she could adapt, so many times she could attempt learning new languages before she was just being overwhelmed. Home was where she wanted to stay until it was boring or she felt like being somewhere else.

Her wish was granted, if only because Takahashi Tsukiko had learned Kasumi was going to live there even if it was on the streets.

But now she was growing stagnate, and she didn't like it. Things needed to get more interesting around Karakura Town, and they needed to get interesting fast. "Though," she thought aloud, "I suppose seeing Ichigo for the first time in so long will be interesting. It'll piss him off at the very least..." He was still in the same spot, his reiatsu calming down just a bit and sticking close to him. She stood up, dusting off her high waist jeans and hoping there weren't any leaves or grass in her hair. It wouldn't do to see Ichigo for the first time in so long and have such an atrocious appearance, but she had been putting it off for far too long anyway.

Kasumi's pace was leisurely as she set to his location, taking in the subtle differences of the area around her. There were almost no new shops, but the old places she had loved as a child changed in some way, from the number of employees to the entire design of the business's spot. It was briefly reassuring, but then it only made her even more antsy. She wished for a dramatic change, and she wished for it to be soon.

Eventually she met with the owner of such a massive reiatsu, and a weight lifted off her chest at the sight of him. He was taller than her by several inches and lanky, though the lanky part was likely due to his age and not yet completing puberty. His orange hair was the same as always, though it seemed dimmer in the light provided. He was talking to a dead girl, someone who had been killed here. Kasumi sent the ghost a message to keep quiet as she crept up behind Ichigo.

"Anyway, I'll see about grabbing those daisies you really like. See you here tomorrow?"

The ghost nodded her head. "See you here tomorrow. Uhm. Also-"

Too late. "RAHH!"

"What the hell?!" Kasumi grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed to stay on his back. He had fallen forward a few steps, just barely catching himself before he fell into the telephone pole.

She nodded her thanks to the ghost. "I see you still haven't changed. Doing whatever you can to make the people around you happy..." Kasumi sighed, even as Ichigo went still, likely trying to place something about her. "It's not a healthy habit, Ichigo. Perhaps you should actually take my advice for once and look out for yourself one day. Not like there aren't plenty of opportunities, right?"

Ichigo reached behind him and grabbed the shoulders of Kasumi's shirt. "Eh?" was all she had time to say before she was thrown off his back and onto the hard concrete. She was lucky her back hit first, allowing less damage for her head. Glaring up at him, Kasumi was half tempted to take his arms and use them to throw him against the damn telephone pole, but she had learned long ago patience was best in terms of revenge.

Ichigo paused for a second. "And just when the hell did you get back and why didn't you tell me?!" Ichigo shouted at her.

Kasumi smiled at him, standing up and dusting herself off again. This time, just to piss him off, she ran her fingers through her jade colored her that just barely passed her shoulders. He gritted his teeth in impatience, but he was taking her in too. She was toned, even if she tried not to make it too obvious, and she cut her hair from when they were children. But her eyes, the dark grey of thunderstorms, had remained the same over the years.

"Now, when did I get back here? Hmm... three days ago? I think it was three days ago I made my official return. Why didn't I tell you? Well because you were so busy with school and your dad, and I was so busy with moving and redecorating and all else." The lies rolled off her tongue with ease, enough so it made her feel guilt. Something else she had grown accustomed to: lying. Something she had yet to get used to: feeling guilt afterward. Maybe there was some good in finding Ichigo today, if not at least to keep it interesting.

Suddenly she was wincing as her head hurt immensely. "I've been sending you letters for years, and you never wrote back!"

"Oww! Does that give you the right to hit me, you jerk?!" She reared back and punched his shoulder so he yelped and glared back at her. There was a simple reason she hadn't written back, well two, but she wasn't in the mood to go into detail about it. Plus, she wanted to keep him as far from Hollows as she possibly could, and if he knew about them and her relationship with Hollows, he would blow up into a million pieces. Then he would want to help, stupidly.

His brown glare softened, and he placed his hands on either shoulder. Kasumi's sleeveless shirt didn't allow him a good look at too many bruises, but the ones he could see made him frown slightly. "I decided to take up some self defense lessons in my last school. I asked the teacher not to go easy on me, so she didn't," Kasumi lied, the guilt rushing back at her lie. These had come from life or death battles she participated in regularly to call a job. "But enough about me. I want to know about you. How have you been? How is Yuzu? Oh, is Karin still playing soccer or has she finally picked up kendo? Tell me, is papa still nutty?"

Ichigo let go of Kasumi, and the two started a walk towards the direction of the clinic. "I'm fine. Tatsuki is trying to drag me to one of her tournaments, but I'll have to find a way out of it. I always manage to start my own fights when I go. Karin is still on soccer, and it doesn't look like she'll be letting go anytime soon. Yuzu is cooking and cleaning to her heart's content. And yes, dad is still nutty," he answered, dragging his feet along the ground. Kasumi smiled to herself. She always adored the Kurosaki family, even if Isshin had managed to beat the shit out of her once or twice. She was Ichigo's friend, and she ended up putting it to use in the end anyway.

"How's your mom?" he asked suddenly.

It had been... explosive to say the least when Kasumi left. The truth about her mom reached Ichigo, and he was about ready to tear Kasumi's mother apart and then beat into Kasumi she can always trust him and his family. Then Kasumi's grandparents all but forced her onto a plane in the middle of the night, and his first letter to her was about five pages long and demanded answers from Kasumi. Most were about her mother and if she was really alright, but the rest were wondering where she was and why she hadn't stopped to say goodbye to him.

"She's... fine." Kasumi's settlement was enough to make Ichigo frown again. "It's not like it's a big deal, Ichigo. I'm not ten anymore, so her negligent attitude doesn't bother me or how I live anymore. I eat what I cook, and she can either take the scraps or starve. It's the Takahashi way to have problems with their moms. I'm still a Takahashi despite it all. Now, let's stop talking about this heavy stuff. I wanna know your opinion on my haircut."

Ichigo placed his hand on top of her head and mussed it before pushing her away. Kasumi made an indignant sound before going and jumping on his back so he carried her some distance. The two nearly walked past the clinic in their mirth, and the only reason they realized it was Kasumi was brought back to reality by the presence of a Hollow. "Ah, Ichigo!" she called, and he turned from where he had been walking on ahead. She gestured to his house, and he looked in surprise. Pink shrouded his face, and he scratched the back of his head. Ignoring the flare of reiatsu from the Hollow, she waved to him. "I'll come see the rest of your family later. Take care, Ichigo!"

As soon as Kasumi was out of sight and hidden fairly well so no one would inspect her body, she reached down to her gold bracelet and gave it a tug. Her soul popped out, dressed in exactly the same thing as her human body. Without waiting a second, she launched into the sky, jumping so she was closer to the Hollow. Its eyes bugged out as soon as it saw Kasumi and what she could do.

Not that it had much time before Kasumi had it on its way to rest. She let out a sigh and stretched her arms above her head, looking to the sky above for several seconds. She lucked out this time. The Hollow had appeared in a lowly populated area, so there were almost no casualties.

Almost.

There was one. The soul crouched on the ground, folding into a fetal position. Kasumi took a few steps toward the soul before kneeling next to her. She was a middle aged woman, and she was going out of her mind. "No. No. My baby..." Taking another glance, Kasumi saw the bundle against her chest, but it failed to move or even breath.

Change that one to two.

Kasumi took a deep breath and placed her hand against the woman's head. "I'm sorry, ma'am." Kasumi's hand glowed where it touched the soul's hair. "I wish I could offer more, but I can't. Your child has moved on, and so shall you." The soul went toward the sky, but it didn't ease the tension in Kasumi's stomach. She hated this part of Hollow killing. They always managed to drag someone down with them...

Her sigh was heavy and irritated. "When I said I wanted change, I didn't mean for it to be a Hollow. You asshole," she murmured to the only god she ever paid any mind to. Fate determined everything, even when she went by other names. "The Future" or "Destiny" were no different from Fate. Fate just happened to be the reigning name in Kasumi's mind. Kicking a rock, she looked up to the sky. "It's coming, isn't it? The reason you ensured I would be born? I wonder... who else have you placed to stand beside me in these upcoming hard times?"

Because surely Fate wouldn't have given her this power if she wasn't meant to use it for something special. Maybe her destiny was to save a people. Or maybe it was to end a war. Perhaps, a long shot she liked to entertain, Kasumi had been born to sacrifice herself for the sake of the rest of the world. This power, it was strong, but was it enough?

The wind answered, seeming like a dark and gentle laugh. Attempting to deceive her but failing miserably. Fate liked her games too much to give it away.

* * *

Sometimes work in Central 46 was more annoying than it was worth according to Yuuma Rokoro. He was damn tired of the tedious dealings of the Shinigami, but it was all part of the treaty prepared between the Shibito and the Shinigami. The treaty was part of an even bigger plan, stored in the mind of Rokoro himself and known only by his closest confidants. The people around him were getting on his last damn nerve, talking about what exactly to do with Urahara Kisuke, as they had been discussing periodically for ages. It was a vote split straight down the middle on whether to keep the former captain alive or venture into the many methods of assassination attempts the Onmitsukido could utilize.

"He is too powerful to remain in the World of the Living. If he will not return here, he must be killed."

"He isn't hurting anything or anyone by living there. If anything, he has been helping. Raising two children and making sure his shop stays running is enough work, not to mention his constant shipments to Shinigami around the world, as well as to the Shibito when requested by Councilman Yuuma himself. Yet he can sometimes find time to kill the Hollows in the area."

The mention of the Shibito was another try at gaining Rokoro's favor, but they all knew Rokoro would only play the rules that benefited his people. He couldn't care less for the Shinigamis' lives if he tried. They attempted to force him to play their games, but he had little time for them. Rokoro kept his secrets guarded, and these men were only seeing the surface. The tip of the iceberg still had yet to make itself known, but they were under the impression they could see all of it even when they couldn't fathom how deep Rokoro's plans went. He had been waiting too long to kill them even by this point, but he just needed a while longer.

Because there was one reason to be active in this conversation. The Hogyoku was somewhere out there still, and only one person knew where it was: Urahara Kisuke. It would be vital to Rokoro's work and to ensuring not only the survival of his race, but the thriving of it. The Shibito were few in number to start with, but this treaty was making it impossible for him to assemble his people together in the light of day. So he worked in the night, using those he trained to train more and more. The Shibito were only as strong as their numbers.

His numbers were reaching five hundred now, and it was a number the Shinigami would fear as soon as they knew. Rokoro was looking forward to it. The Shibito had been feared because their strength was literally in their numbers, as long as Rokoro got to them in enough time. If one was able to get strong on their own... they were certainly going to be a problem for Rokoro. Without the proper control Rokoro brought, they would be able to reach maximum potential and throw a wrench into his plans. He was going to have to hunt a few down at the end of his plan already, and he wasn't looking to add more names to the list.

But first, the Hogyoku.


	2. Chapter Two: Relaxed Reunions

_Her eyes were blurring, failing to focus in on the problematic monster in front of her. She had been wandering through the park when it appeared, well past three in the morning and well after the previous verbal beating she had taken from her mom. Kasumi saw the monster just before he tackled into her, making her roll far, far away from where she stood. "Ahahaha!" The maniacal laugh set her nerves on edge. Or at least more on edge than she already was. "Look at what we have here. A soul hidden away in a gigai? But not a Shinigami? How terrible those Shinigami must be getting if they offered the soul of a girl to draw a Hollow like me out!"_

 _Those thunderstorm colored eyes widened in absolute fear, not at the monster but at the body lying several feet away. She felt her chest for the chain, but she came up with nothing. The Hollow laughed again, but she saw something absolutely strange about her body. It was there, yes. It was pale, yes. If she touched it, she'd wager it was cold. But it wasn't exactly... motionless._

 _Takahashi Kasumi's body was still breathing._

By the time school rolled around, Kasumi was more than ready to get back to her life of moving around all the time. She despised being in one spot, but every time she started to pack up, she remembered Ichigo and had to stay. Even if it was possible she was putting him in more danger, she had to stay instead of run away like she had the first time. It turned out she had hardly been responsible for the presence of so many Hollows because it was Ichigo's uncontrollable reiatsu that had done it all by itself. Kasumi was not going to leave Ichigo to such a fate.

She was sitting in the desk, a pair of neutral toned leggings underneath her uniform skirt, and flipping the page in one of the textbooks. For the most part, Kasumi had learned what she needed to know by teaching herself due to her constant jumping in curriculum, and the habit was sticking with her even in Karakura Town where she would be staying until it was safe to leave Ichigo.

But would it ever be safe to leave Ichigo? His reiatsu was so huge, and so many Hollows were attracted to it. He would never be safe, and neither would anyone around him be safe for the fact alone of he was just too much. Kasumi's stomach clenched in fear. He would try to take them head on. He would gladly sacrifice himself if it meant his family lived. That was why Kurosaki Ichigo could _never_ know about Hollows. For all of Kasumi's accomplishments, her greatest shortcoming was the carrot top she loved so much.

It would probably never be safe to leave Ichigo, so she would stay by his side silently. Hiding among the shadows, destroying those who wished him harm, because what else would someone do in order to protect their most precious person? He would marry one day too, and his children would obtain that same massive reiatsu. Kasumi would protect them too, all the way until her inevitable death. Then even further if she could get away with it.

"Kasummiii!"

She jumped at the sound of Tatsuki's voice, standing up so fast the chair was thrown back several feet and crashed into another desk, pushing it back and knocking the second chair onto the ground. Kasumi's heartbeat increased for several seconds, and then she realized there was no reason to be afraid... of a Hollow at least. Tatsuki was still coming full steam ahead!

With a high pitched curse, Kasumi dodged her enraged friend by jumping over the desk beside her and running to the front of the room, behind Tatsuki. Like a terrifying bull, she stopped suddenly and turned to her prey in a matter of a second. "Alright, alright, hey, can we talk about this? Can we really, because I really think we should... You're pissed, and you're coming straight for me again!" Kasumi dodged again because Tatsuki was currently scarier than any Hollow she had faced. With the exception of one, but it was beyond the point to even remember it.

She could hear several of the students muttering about what was happening, and Keigo was crying with Mizuiro about the unfair treatment Kasumi was receiving. Ichigo refused to share her, and now Tatsuki was taking up her time by chasing her around the school. "They have to know she has other friends too! She hasn't even been able to hug me yet!" he sobbed in a grossly dramatic way. It was enough to distract Kasumi long enough for Tatsuki to grab hold of her.

Keeping her a few inches off the ground, Kasumi was forced to look into Tatsuki's eyes. "Three years! Three years, and we didn't hear a word from you!" Huh... It had been three years, hadn't it? It felt so much shorter but so much longer at the same time. Tatsuki shook Kasumi, and the girl cried out in distress. "We were worried about you, you idiot, and you can't even manage to get out a single letter to us?! Hunh? I know you weren't lacking paper, and you know our addresses, so you can't give me any bullshit stories!"

With a nervous chuckle, Kasumi replied, "Sorry, Tatsuki, I was just super busy."

Her forehead vein ticked. "Bullshit!"

Kasumi let out a yell as she was thrown into someone. He was tall with a chest like adamantium. She groaned in pain, though he merely looked down at her like she was a part of his shirt. Dizzy, she muttered, "Sorry, sorry... The world is spinning again..."

"Damn right it is! Now give me the truth!" Tatsuki shouted.

Before she could make her next move, the eternal peacemaker between the two stepped in. "Now, now, Tatsuki, that isn't fair," Orihime said, her orange hair much longer than Kasumi remembered. She could only see the girl's back, but her figure was slightly obvious despite it. Above her, the male held her by the shoulders to keep her upright. "You even threw her into Chad, and you know how tough the guy is! No offense, Chad."

There were a few seconds of silence before his voice, deep and low, added, "None taken." He set Kasumi up straight and asked, "Are you alright?"

With a smile, Kasumi nodded. There was sigh from outside, and then Ichigo walked through the door to see a steaming Tatsuki, a wailing Orihime, a shaky Kasumi, a crying Keigo, and Chad. He sighed. "Man, I can't ever leave you alone for a second, can I, Kasumi? Always getting yourself into trouble and making me come save your ass..."

Wavering on her feet for multiple reasons not having to do with Chad, Kasumi gave him a thumbs up signal. "Not at all, Ichigo!" Kasumi lumbered over to her desk and plopped herself into it. The small display was enough to tire her out, again, though it was fair because Tatsuki was abnormally fast and abnormally strong, and those two had nothing to do with her reiatsu level. She could hear Ichigo and Tatsuki arguing in the background while Orihime attempted to play Devil's Advocate between the two, which only succeeded in pissing both of them off even more as she laid her head down to rest.

 _Her body was still breathing._

 _She checked her chest for the chain, but there was none. Her body was alive, but she was not connected to it in any way. She saw a man in a car accident from one of the monsters, and his chain went from his chest to his body. So why didn't she have one? She was supposed to have a chain! "Whatever, makes you more delicious to eat!" The monster dove for her, and she found herself on her legs and running away from it. He hit the ground with a crash, and the force created an explosion that sent her rolling again. "Are we playing a game? I love games!"_

 _The maniacal laugh had her covering her ears. She closed her eyes after she realized her ankle was bent oddly. It was too much to run. She was going to die here no matter how far she crawled. She was the mouse, and the cat had successfully incapacitated its prey. He dived again, and she covered her head with her arms, screaming for no one to hear. There was a bright red light, and she stayed still in her spot. Nothing moved for ages._

 _But when she looked again, she was in a different place entirely._

Kasumi woke with a start. Ichigo was waving his hand in front of her face with the smallest touch of worry on his features. "Oi, get your big ass hand out of my face," she ordered, pushing him away. She looked around. No one else was in the room. Kasumi scratched the back of her head. "Eh? What time is it?"

"Lunch." It was an immediate answer, one that made Kasumi sigh. Of course she had slept for so long. Three Hollows interrupted her sleep, and one of them managed to cut her up a good bit, so she had to deal with those wounds... Not to mention Tatsuki. She sighed again. "Are you alright? You don't seem like yourself."

She probably should have told him the honest answer. Kasumi was not okay. She was tired and sore and worried constantly about him. But if she told him that, she would have to tell him all about the rest of it, and she wasn't open to the option in the slightest. Kasumi's smile was large, bright, and fake. "Of course I'm alright, Ichigo. Now stop frowning so much or you'll wind up with wrinkles at an early age."

Kasumi took his hand, brushing her jade hair to the side, and led him from the classroom before he could notice the slight tremor in her body.

* * *

Ichigo prided himself on knowing when something was wrong with Takahashi Kasumi when they were younger, and the feeling hadn't faded after all this time. Three years she spent away from him hadn't truly changed her in the slightest. Her style was tweaked a bit, but she was the same as when they were children all the way up until now. Even as she chatted the entire walk to the clinic, there was something off about her.

She was lying to him about something, but Ichigo had yet to determine what exactly it was. It wasn't a boy, he knew her secret wasn't something so foolish. No, her secret had something to do with why she never wrote back to any of them, with the exception of Orihime. Even then it had been short and incomplete, consisting of a half assed answer about her school being alright and her settling in nicely. A sentence hadn't even been finished, showing she hadn't meant to send it at all. It was the only reason he wasn't so pissed off at seeing her. Did she write a letter for him that she never sent?

But it still hurt. It hurt almost as much as the hitches in her breath as she slept, the slight sheen of sweat, and the taut expression she had gave away the terrible nightmare she had that morning. Or the times she would look away from him, her eyes darting left ever so slightly before staring straight again. Or the slight twitches in her fingers while they were spending time together before she suddenly had somewhere to be. Or the smallest of limps in her walk this morning, carefully concealed so only someone who studied her gait like he had knew.

Because Ichigo remembered and knew everything about Kasumi, and Kasumi remembered and knew everything about Ichigo. He could even remember the day they met as clear as yesterday. Perhaps he could use it to get her guard down, to get her to talk to him. She was in the middle of detailing an American rock band when he interrupted and asked, "What do you remember about when we met, Kasumi?"

The jade haired girl was quiet for a second, and then a small smile made its way to her face. "I remember you were afraid of me at first. I was such a rambunctious little child, wasn't I? Even Masaki wasn't quite so sure she wanted us to be friends, but then we found what we had in common."

Together, they spoke, "Ghosts." The word was said with a grimace on both of their parts. Ichigo was just tired of them following him around, though they were never as attracted to Kasumi as they had been to him.

Ichigo, with his own smile, added, "And then you explained to me about the chains on their chests, and how it was some sort of hourglass for them. But you never told me what happened at the end of it. Once the chain was gone." A careful prodding.

Kasumi stopped in the middle of the way, her gaze on the ground. Ichigo walked a few steps ahead, expecting her to pick up whatever she dropped and catch up, but she didn't. Instead she stood in the middle of the way, wearing a conflicted expression as her eyes darted all over to find some sort of excuse. Ichigo frowned again. There she was, finding another way to dodge the question or lie about it.

"Kasumi." Her thunderstorm eyes hesitantly met his. His expression was serious, more so than usual. "Don't lie to me again."

She flinched from the verbal blow, her gaze sliding to the ground again. She let out a sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "You know, Ichi, you don't make it easy to keep things from you. But if you knew what the world was like, what it was really like, you'd never let me leave my room again." He puzzled over her words, trying to connect the dots. But she walked past him, keeping up a steady pace. "Fine. I won't lie to you anymore. Never again, Kurosaki Ichigo, will I lie to you. But I won't tell you about it either. Now hurry up before papa gets angry about your tardiness again."

Better to ask her than to never know, he guessed. "Does it have to do with why you never wrote back?"

She didn't answer. "But the band is so good, and I really like their slower songs as much as their faster and harder ones. But his dancing is so dorky, and it's cute. Too bad they aren't mainstream anymore..." Kasumi paused and tilted her head. "Are you coming or not? I bet you're trying to get away from me and listening all about the stuff I like! You brat!" She reached up and grasped his ear. The painful tugs pushed the questions into the back of his mind even as she all but dragged him on the ground to his house.

* * *

Kasumi was glad the week passed without much further incident. Ichigo was still blissfully unaware of the Hollows she fought day in and day out, even blatantly ignoring her random naps in the middle of class so her soul could annihilate her enemies. Tatsuki was the only one to pick up on it, but everyone wrote her off as paranoid or thinking too much into it. Orihime had been to her home while Kasumi's mother wasn't there, and the two ate together before the woman stumbled into the home like a drunk. Kasumi didn't dare wonder if she had started mixing pills and whatever else with alcohol. It was her liver she was fucking up, not Kasumi's.

She finished taking care of one particularly nasty Hollow after school and stretched her arms above her head before going to her body. She blew out a breath and jammed herself back inside with a groan. Kasumi said up and rubbed the back of her head before looking around properly. "Hunh... Old man Kisuke should be around here," she murmured, her feet already taking her in his direction. "He saved my life all that time ago, and I never did properly thank him..."

 _Kasumi woke up in a room of white with several shelves. Touching her chest, she still found no chain attached and gasped a bit. She pushed herself to her feet and called, "Is anyone there?" No one answered, so she took several steps forward. Her side contracted painfully, and she fell into the wooden doorway with a gasp. Once the spasms subsided, she began her walk again, sticking close to the wall in case it happened again._

 _"Yes, yes. Thank you for coming and have a good day. Make sure to stop by again!" The voice was happy, bright, full of life. Kasumi stumbled toward the illuminated doorway, shielding her eyes from the sun's rays. There was a sound from someone else and a call for a boss. "I know she's awake, Tessai, and she probably shouldn't be walking around, but this will hardly be the hardest thing she'll go through."_

 _He crossed the room in a matter of steps before placing something on her head. "Open your eyes." She did, finding sunglasses protecting her. The man was blond with a green and white striped hat. She knew in a heartbeat this was the man who saved her from the monster. "We have lots to talk about, don't we?"_

Kasumi rolled her shoulders back and stretched her arms with a yawn. Kisuke spoke to her off and on for the two weeks she stayed in Karakura Town after her First Death, just checking in every so often and making sure she was alright. He explained the spirit world to her, though he admitted to having less information than he liked on her kind. They held their secrets tightly and seldom shared. Her training had been pure trial and error for the longest time, developing ideas and researching similar documented happenings. He had even given her the bracelet she still wore as a limiter.

"Kisuke," she called as she stepped inside, kicking her shoes.

The blond hadn't aged a day, not that she expected him to, as he saw her and gave a large smile. "Ah, there you are. I was wondering when my favorite Shibito would finally visit."

With a smile, she replied, "Kisuke, I'm the only Shibito you know."

As his expression darkened, she knew they were going to be skipping pleasantries. "As my favorite Shibito, I'm offering you a fair warning. The Hollow disturbance has been on the Shinigami's radar for a long time, but you purifying them has brought it closer to the top of the list. I've been informed of a Shinigami coming to investigate. And allow me to promise you, you don't want to be anywhere near the Shinigami if she finds out what you are or what you can do."

Kasumi sighed. Shibito and Shinigami had a... complicated relation to say the very least. Any rogue Shibito were to be annihilated, but the term was loosely defined. She didn't even know what had caused such distress between the two. "I understand. Of course."


	3. Chapter Three: Hollows

Kasumi felt the Shinigami as soon as she entered the World of the Living. She wasn't particularly powerful, but she carried with her the potential to be much more. It had become necessary for the jade haired girl to recognize these things over the years because it was hardly her first time meeting a Shinigami and because it was what the old lady told her to do a couple years ago when they met. _Learn them and learn them well. There are few ways to surviving for people like us, and you need all of them just to get into adulthood._

Not to say she still didn't feel nervous every time she left her house regardless of the time. The Shinigami was bound to skip over her, but if she found out Kasumi was able to see, she would suspect something. Kasumi was not in any state of mind to start making up stories.

In other news, her schedule was perfect, and she managed to make enough changes in each day to settle her nerves for the most part. In the morning, she spoke with Orihime, Tatsuki, and the other girls. Sometimes she would provoke Tatsuki so the two could battle it out on the floor while Orihime freaked out about the dirt and bruises from above. Other days, the two would have to keep Chizuru off of Orihime. And other days, she would attempt to eat Orihime's breakfasts she brought for the two of them. Then class would start, and she would take her seat behind Ichigo. In her morning classes, she might pass notes with him or stare blankly ahead and wait for Hollows.

At lunch, she sat with Chad, Ichigo, Keigo, and Mizuiro and ate her lunch quietly before joining the conversation, always turning it into either teasing or blatant flirting. She wanted to eat more as her reiatsu demanded, but she was around too many people to really bother with it. Plus it was fun to see Chad completely miss her attempts at flattering him. Keigo usually whined about it since he never understood and failed to "recognize the beauty that is Takahashi Kasumi" while Mizuiro at least tried to comfort him. Ichigo would make a smart ass comment if Kasumi's flirting was outrageous enough, and the two would then enter a verbal spar. Lunch ended before there was a clear winner.

Class would start again, and she would pass notes with Mizuiro the entirety of the afternoon since she was well ahead of the lesson plan and getting further each night. Sometimes Keigo would intercept the notes and wind up sulking or laughing in the middle of class before passing it to Chad. Chad would read it before Tatsuki would take it from his hands and read it herself before either agreeing and laughing or throwing it at Kasumi's face and getting them in trouble again. Though none of the teachers ever went so far as to give them detention.

After the school day ended, she would wait for everyone to leave so to avoid having to walk into people around the school grounds with Ichigo. They would sit in comfortable silence, but the silence had changed now Ichigo confirmed Kasumi was hiding something from him. "So, Kasumi, what are you doing today after school?" he asked casually, drinking from a juice box he fished from Kasumi's stash in her bag.

"Walking you home and then going home myself. Cooking dinner for me and handing the scraps to my mom. Homework. Shower or bath, depends on if I'm shaving tonight or not. Mmm... Might stay up later tonight or just go straight to bed. Depends on how I feel," Kasumi replied, stealing the juice box from him and finishing it off before tossing it into the garbage can. "Why do you ask, Ichigo?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ichigo murmured, scratching the back of his head.

Kasumi nodded. "Wanted to play dumb anyway," she sighed and leaned back on the desk. "How about you? What are you doing tonight? I can meet you down by the river bank for old time's sake if you'd like. It'd be different at the very least. I'm growing weary of things staying so close to the same... Moving around always gave me something to do, kept me sharp."

Her carrot top friend looked up in thought, deciding to ignore her comment about moving so much. "Wouldn't hurt, but I think you should get some more rest. You keep falling asleep in class. Are you getting enough sleep at night? Do you need to come stay at the clinic for a while?"

Kasumi appreciated her friend's worry, but she wondered how he would react if she told him her soul left her body every time she fell asleep in the class. The only reason Ichigo didn't know was she fell through the floor upon the release to stay out of his sight. There would be no question on whether she was staying at the clinic, that's for sure. "Thank you, Ichigo, but it's not as simple as that."

His sigh was vaguely frustrated. "The secret." It wasn't a question. She nodded simply. "I wish you'd tell me. I hadn't realized three years was enough time for you to hide something so big from me again. Your mom isn't doing it again, is she?" Ichigo touched on of the harsher bruises, and she flinched. Her hand slapped his away with a scowl. His own scowl appeared. "Oi, don't get mad at me for being worried about your dumb ass!"

"Don't be worried about my dumb ass! I promise it looks good," she replied with a casual wink. Ichigo's eyes darted down before he blushed cherry red. Kasumi burst out laughing. "I didn't know- you can-" Her laughter impeded any real conversation while he looked at the wall with a cross expression. As soon as her laughter died down, she poked his shoulder. "Oh, don't stop talking to me now, Ichigo. I know I'm such an awful friend and I'm keeping secrets, but that doesn't mean we can't talk it out... Ichigo? Ichigo, please don't ignore me. I'm sorry for laughing at you when your face turned to red."

He refused to say a word, keeping his gaze on the wall. She sighed dramatically and pushed his shoulder so he nearly fell. "Fine! Don't talk to me! But I'm walking to the clinic, so you can either walk with me and make sure I don't get hurt or you can stay here and pout." With another word, Kasumi grabbed her belongings and went to the door. Ichigo let out another frustrated noise before following her.

Kasumi didn't say anything for a while. The walk itself was peaceful, with the exception of Ichigo kicking the asses of a few guys who knocked over the girl's daisies. There was nothing expected from this walk, and Ichigo had even given up on getting answers for the time being. He liked to stick to the idea of waiting until the person was ready, but Kasumi was his best friend. It was different. At least until they were at a major street and she sensed the Hollow just as it appeared.

A huge step was unseen, but it was felt when a car crashed into it. Kasumi took a step back as it fully left its world, her arm in front of Ichigo as he stared in awe and horror at the monster. "Damn it," she muttered mostly to herself before looking around her. Where was the Shinigami? People were going to die! Kasumi turned to Ichigo. "Ichi, I need you to do me a huge favor, alright? Don't ask any questions, not until tomorrow when I can fully explain it, alright?"

"Kasumi? What the hell is going on?" His voice was painted with fear.

"No questions, Ichi. Take me to safety, yeah?" He opened his mouth to ask what she meant before she tugged on her limiter and her soul plopped from body, standing just behind it. Ichigo's mouth dropped, and the Hollow took a step towards them. Storm clouds gathered above them, covering the once sunny sky in darkness. Walking towards the Hollow, she called behind herself, "Ichi, take my body to safety! Get yourself out of here at the very least!"

Then, as the Hollow roared, lightning struck. Kasumi's hands were charged with five thousand volts of electricity, only a part of what she was capable of. Two axes were strapped against her back, and she was wearing the same outfit Ichigo saw her when they met for the first time in three years. "Kasumi!" he called, but she didn't hear him. What the hell? When did she acquire a skill like this?

"Oi, Hollow! If you're going to fight, shouldn't you stick to someone who at least provides a challenge?" she asked before jumping into the air. It was higher than she could jump in her physical body, but she couldn't harness lightning in her physical body either. The Hollow dodged a charged punch, likely sensing the threat this small human could pose if he wasn't careful. She turned around, jade hair fluttering around her.

The Hollow was momentarily distracted by her, at least until the Shinigami appeared. It wasn't even paying attention to the fluctuating reiatsu of the human boy below, trying to keep itself alive. Kasumi moved quickly, but not nearly as fast as she had the first time. Her clean up job was what garnered the Shinigami's attention, therefore it would be smarter to let this visiting Shinigami deal with them from now on, even if she was unbearably slow.

When the Shinigami did show, she finished the Hollow in a single strike. The Shinigami caught sight of Kasumi for a second, eye contact made between the dark violet eyes and the shadowed grey. It was obvious in those few seconds the Shinigami knew what a Shibito looked like, even if the Shibito herself was quite unsure of how her fellow Shibito should appear.

As suddenly as Kasumi appeared in front of the Hollow, she vanished from the sight of her friend and the Shinigami.

* * *

Ichigo wasn't quite sure what he thought about the events that had transpired that afternoon. He knew Kasumi had been lying to him, but he hadn't thought she was lying about being dead. It didn't make any sense though. Her appearance hadn't changed, and he never saw a ghost who aged. She appeared the same as her body. Was that why she had returned to Karakura? No, that wouldn't make sense. She would want to go anywhere but home, at least until those she cared about were gone. But at the same time, how recently had she died?

Her hands were different too. They made crackling noises, like they were coated in lightning. He certainly hoped not. Kasumi was fast in her fights, never strong, and certainly not enough to endure a such a strong voltage of lightning. Those axes looked heavy too, not providing any relief for him. If they were smaller, like knives, he could see them fitting her fighting style more, but they were fucking axes. If his theory was right and it was lightning, why did she have powers when other ghosts didn't? Damn it, this wasn't making sense.

 _Is it possible she died? But when? And why would she come all the way back here?_

Then his thoughts swarmed on the woman. Kasumi disappeared as soon as she saw her, but he couldn't come up with a viable reason why. Even her body had disappeared from his arms in a flash of lightning. "What the hell is going on? And why won't Kasumi tell me anything?" he asked out loud, raking his fingers through his hair. It was adding up now. The bruises, the limp, the nightmares, the naps, all of those were side effects of being dead and fighting whatever the hell that thing was! But the woman, how was she connected? And how did Kasumi have powers? "It doesn't make any sense!"

But speak of the devil and she shall appear. The woman walked through his wall with a purposeful expression on her face. Ichigo sat up in his bed, a bit pissed off because she had interrupted his thinking time. "Oi, what the hell are you doing in my room?" he demanded. The woman only looked forward, an expression so serious it was bothering Ichigo. But she didn't answer his question or even show any real acknowledgement of it. Her hand dropped to the sword at her waist, and Ichigo scrambled back to the edge of his bed. "Hey, put that thing away! No need for that sort of violence!"

Whoever she was, she clearly wasn't interested in making conversation despite being in the middle of his room. In Ichigo's irritation, he kicked the female over while she was in the middle of muttering some sort of gibberish. Her expression turned on him in surprise before lighting up in brief recognition. "You!"

"Me?" Ichigo asked.

"You were with her! The Shibito!" she shouted out, and Ichigo could see she was less of a woman and more of someone his age.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Shibito? Never heard of it." He stopped as Kasumi flashed across his mind. "Wait, Kasumi? Are you saying Kasumi is a Shibito? What the hell even is a Shibito?" Ichigo shook his head as his anger set back in. "Better question being, why the hell did you just walk into my room like it was no big deal?! Ever heard of this thing called privacy?!"

The woman asked him to sit down after more, err, hostile words were shared, and she began her explanation.

By the end of it, Ichigo was far less than impressed with Kasumi's little prank. She had done something similar in childhood, telling him monsters existed and even having a few of her friends make a fake monster just to scare him. Normally she was good at this sort of thing, but she had worked way to hard this time. "So you're a Shinigami, and you're telling me you came all the way from this place called the Soul Society?" The girl nodded her head. "To deal with demons like the one we saw today?" She nodded again. "Which was chasing after that girl's soul?" Again she nodded. "Alright, alright I'll believe it..."

Then Ichigo flipped his table over. "Along with flying pigs and the Tooth Fairy!" He calmed down for a minute. "Honestly, Kasumi, you worked way too hard on this one. Come on out, Kasumi! It's all fun and games until I get mad, so quit your little prank before it goes too far!"

The girl leaned forward, positively affronted. "You're saying that although you see ghosts, you don't believe in Shinigami?"

Ichigo nodded his head, looking over his room for cameras. "Ghosts I see every day, but Shinigami? Sorry, but you're the first. I only believe in things I can see, chick. Now where is this camera?"

The girl appeared beside him as he turned. "You see me don't you?"

"I'll admit you're not human. But this Shinigami prank is going too far, alright, pipsqueak?"

Her expression changed in a second as a malicious grin took over her face. "I'm a pipsqueak, huh?" Ichigo heard some sort of mumbo jumbo before his arms flew behind his back. And try as he might, there was no moving them from the invisible binds the girl had placed on him. She planted her foot in the middle of his back, forcing him on the ground. "Now tell me what you know about the Shibito. Your friend, what was her name again?"

Ichigo felt a familiar tug at his gut. Sometimes, you just don't spill secrets without getting answers first. "Why would you care?" he asked while struggling to get her off of him and into an upright position. As soon as these restraints were gone, he was definitely going to kick her ass.

The Shinigami's words were serious. "The treaty requires Shinigami know the location of all Shibito, and there are none reported to be in Karakura Town. She's either in violation of the Shi Accords, or she doesn't know what she is just yet. She needs to be protected in either case. Regardless of what she showed earlier, she isn't experienced or else the Hollow would have been gone long before I arrived. And her reiatsu is ridiculously low for a Shibito, only increasing the chances of her meeting her Second Death."

Kasumi... Shibito... Second Death? If there was a Second Death, then there had to be a First Death, right? "This... this isn't a prank, is it? She's really been protecting me this whole time from monsters like the one earlier?" It was making a lot more sense now, even if he had more questions than before.

Just how far did Kasumi's secret go?

And what was that howl?

* * *

"Kasumi!" The slurred voice made the teenaged girl sigh. It was nearing midnight, her mother's favorite time to "play" as she once called it. Now she just tried to hit Kasumi until she passed out from having just a tad too many pills. Usually she never even made it to Kasumi's room, and the teenaged Shibito typically just left her there to hang and dry. She had little interest in even attempting to see what her mother wanted as it had been nearly twenty four hours since the Shinigami arrived, and she was on the lookout to make sure she didn't need any backup. "Kasumi! I called for you! One of your little friends are here!"

Now that was new. With wide eyes, the green haired female rushed from her window sill to her door and out into the living room where she was looking to see who came to her house at an atrocious hour such as this. "Who is it?" she asked suspiciously, immediately noting her mother's absence as well. Takahashi Yuuki had once been a beautiful woman, but living in 2002 for the last several years changed her. Long tresses of dark hair were now cut short and had many split ends, tangled nearly all the time. Dark circles developed under what had been lively grey eyes, and wrinkles far beyond her years made themselves known.

Kasumi turned at the Hollow presence. It was huge in any way, shape, or form. Going could mean exposing herself to the Shinigami, but not going could mean even worse things. Her breath caught when she recognized the area it was in, visualizing a map in her mind. "Ichigo," she breathed out, attempting to make a run for him and the Shinigami. She was interrupted by a metal pipe meeting the back of her head, effectively rendering her unconscious.

Takahashi Yuuki stood over her daughter, body shaking from withdrawal. Kasumi's chest rose up and fell down before rising up again. Yuuki dropped her pipe and ran to her daughter's bedroom. Kasumi's grandparents had been generous with money to her, so surely she had some spare cash lying around...

But Kasumi didn't. She had anticipated her mother attempting to take her money and kept all of it on a bank card Yuuki had no real way of accessing. She could keep the card, but what good was the plastic if she couldn't get the money out of it to pay for things?

It was a few hours before Kasumi woke up, but she could almost taste the reiatsu's change in the air. It had changed, was charged with so much more than the night before. But the Hollow was gone, and she could feel Yuzu's tiny amount of reiatsu as well as Karin's growing reiatsu. Isshin was alive at the very least, but she couldn't quite feel Ichigo. The Shinigami... she was missing ?Just what the hell happened last night?

 _Ichigo, are you okay?_


	4. Chapter Four: I Owe You

Yuuma Shichirou was easily bored by the Seiretei. The divisions and all of their tedious work took away all of the fun for him since no one was available to do much of anything until nighttime, and all the Shinigami ever wanted to do then was drink and drink and drink. Shichirou liked his drinks as much as anyone else, but was there really nothing else to do in their spare time? Aside from drunken spars? A food fight? A festival? Hell, even a tournament?

He leaned back and stared up at the sky. Zaraki was prowling somewhere with his demonic lieutenant, likely searching for a good fight or for Shichirou since his brother Rokuro had been requesting his presence for days. Central 46 was another tedious job. It required having so many guidelines and following so many rules, and it was just overall irritating for Shichirou. But Rokuro was begging for Shichirou to learn the trade. Shichirou refused politely every time it was brought up, but his brother insisted upon pummeling Shichirou into submission.

The fact of it was he wasn't built for the political life. Shichirou was a born soldier, and he had been ever since Rokuro found him in the dumpster one day as a child after his First Death. Shichirou was one of the youngest recorded First Deaths, if he wasn't the youngest. Shichirou could hardly be bothered with a matter so stupid as who the youngest to die and be reborn as a Shibito was. It mattered on who could protect the others, who was the strongest, and what could everyone to do to be as strong as the strongest. Among the Shibito, even the numbers Rokuro hid, it was painfully obvious Shichirou held all of the physical power.

His shoulder length blond hair was splayed out on the rock underneath him. He hid in the Thirteenth Division to hide from his brother today, though Ukitake-taicho hardly seemed to mind it in the slightest. He liked Shichirou, even if he didn't like any of Shichirou's brothers. At his hip, a long, curved blade reminded him again of what he was. Shibito's blades were nothing like the zanpakutos of the Shinigami. A Shinigami could lose their blade and were more likely to learn the release for their spirit, the ability to commune within themselves. A Shibito who learned the name of their blade, a seizon, was one of maybe a million.

Shichirou was the only Shibito alive who knew his seizon's name, and it added to his fame.

But there was something tickling his side, a sign something was coming. It happened every so often. It tickled for the arrivals of the captains of the tenth and eleventh, and for the breaking of the Shi Accords nearly twenty years ago, as well as the birth of Oshiro's return roughly ten years ago after he was on the run for five years. He scratched his ear, meadow green eyes closing. Perhaps something even more interesting would be happening soon.

* * *

Kasumi ran to school. She was already a couple of hours late. Her mother hitting her over the head with the pipe had her waking at four, and she fell asleep somewhere between four and six thirty. When she awoke again, it was nearing noon, and her phone was buzzing with text messages from Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, and, unsurprisingly but utterly reassuring, Ichigo. If he could text, then he had to be alright, right?

"Damn," she cursed, veering to the side as she felt the presence of a Hollow. Looking either way in the suburban neighborhood, Kasumi kept a grip on her bracelet, breathing heavily. _Wait. Should I let the Shinigami take care of it? No, I haven't felt her since before mom knocked me out. But if she is still around, it could spell trouble for me..._ Sighing, Kasumi resigned herself to running to the source of the Hollow. At the very least she could plead innocent and pretend to have no idea about the spirit world and its troubles. Kasumi took in the location of the Hollow, and she started in a dead sprint in the direction of it. Sure, she would be super late to school, but school over innocent souls? Obviously the souls were going to win every time.

Kasumi skidded to a stop when she finally saw the Hollow. It turned, sensing her leaking reiatsu now she was closer, and licked its lips in an appetizing gesture. She grasped her bracelet and prepared to tug when a long sword cut down the Hollow. She sighed and closed her eyes. _Thank goodness. The Shinigami is alright. But something doesn't feel right. Why does she feel so strange?_

"Oi, Kasumi."

 _Ichigo._ Her eyes snapped open, and she stopped breathing altogether. Kasumi could have met her Second Death then and there, and it would have been more acceptable than seeing her childhood friend in the black shihakusho of the Shinigami. Her grey eyes became the definition of the calm before the storm. Did he die? Was that why he was in the shihakusho? No, if he had died, he wouldn't have automatically become a Shinigami. He had to go to school for it and then join a squad. He would have had to have crossed over by now.

So how was he a Shinigami? He wasn't dead, so he shouldn't have had the power to leave his body without the Chain of Fate. Unless... If a Shinigami offers to join their power with a human, it is possible for the human to be a temporary Shinigami. It's forbidden, but it can happen in the most dire of situations. Which meant all of the work Kasumi had put in to being stronger, everything she had survived, the limiter, all of it... all of it was for nothing. Ichigo knew about the Hollows and he now had the power to fight them, however temporary it might be.

Ichigo frowned at her. "Kasumi? Talk to me, are you alright?"

"Takahashi?"

Her clouded eyes turned on to the dark haired girl standing ever so slightly behind Ichigo and wearing a Karakura uniform. Her dark hair was styled weirdly, but Kasumi appreciated it nevertheless. Then she saw the violet eyes, and her mind clicked back to yesterday. They met, and her eyes were the same shade of violet. And the jade haired girl knew she had not been attending their school just yesterday. Those clouds stormed and raged, thundering inside of herself. Her skin grew hot, but she couldn't feel it.

Within a half second, she had the girl against the fence across the street. "What did you do to him?" Kasumi asked quietly, her chest closing up. Too much. Too much! her brain screamed, but her emotions had taken over. Kasumi threw her out towards the street, catching her again and forcing her into another fence. "What did you do to him!? How dare you! You Shinigami are nothing but bad omens! How dare you do that to him!"

"Kasumi!" Ichigo shouted, but she merely threw her hand out to stop him. Lightning sparked on her palm, and his eyes widened. A distinct burning smell filled the air, twisting his stomach. "Kasumi, let her go!"

The Shinigami struggled, but the gigai was only so strong. "I should kill you." The words were whispered on the winds, but they boomed louder than any scream. "I should kill you for this. Kurosaki Ichigo has suffered enough at the hands of ghosts. It was my job to protect him! I wanted him out of this war! It's bloody and never ending and hardly worth the rewards you seldom reap. Ichigo... My Ichigo can't handle that. He has to be able to protect everyone, even when they don't want it. Do you understand what you've done here?! Do you?!"

She had enough nerve to look sorry about it. "I had no choice."

"There's always a choice!" Kasumi barked.

Her body was getting too hot. It was getting harder to breathe. Sweat gathered on her skin, and the smell of burning grew more putrid. The Shinigami's violet eyes met the storms of Kasumi. "You're right. I had a choice. It was die and let the Kurosaki family be killed... or give Kurosaki Ichigo some of my power so he and his family might survive," she declared, no longer struggling in the hold of the Shibito.

Ichigo saw the war between the two females, but it was stifling in the area. Clouds had gathered around, and the atoms were charged with enough electricity to electrocute someone at any given moment. His current bet on who it would be was the Shinigami Kuchiki Rukia who saved his life. "Kasumi!" he shouted again, taking a step toward her. A small bolt struck his foot, just enough to warn him.

Kasumi's knees buckled, and she wound up leaning on the Shinigami. "I defeated all of the Hollows. I learned to adapt to any situation. I fought to survive and then to live. I did everything that old lady told me to do! So how come... how come, in the end, it was still not me who saved Ichigo?"

Ichigo's eyes widened upon seeing her weakness. "Kasumi!"

She hardly heard him, trying to stay upright without the Shinigami's help. Through her mind passed all of the times the mere thought of Ichigo waiting to see her again was enough to give her the strength to defeat Hollows of varying sizes and strengths. But this one thing, she hadn't been able to keep him out of. "Why is it I can never be the one who saves him? He's saved me so many times, and he wasn't even there. I wanted this one thing... I just wanted him to not be in this war."

The Shinigami helped her stand anyway. "I understand," she said, her violet eyes closing as she helped Kasumi to the ground. The heat emanating from her was blisteringly hot, but the bare remnants of the Shinigami's reiatsu were helping to ward it off. The clouds slowly disappeared, and the air went to its normal ways. Ichigo ran to the two, jumping back when he touched Kasumi's skin. Her breathing was harsh and rushed, like she wasn't getting enough air.

It scared her knowing Ichigo was going to be involved in this. She had hoped to keep him away from it. The idea she would do something like fight Hollows and hide it without Ichigo's permission pissed him off. "Hey, from here on we fight together. I mean, these guys can get pretty huge, Mimi. So you're not allowed to do all of this on your own anymore. Promise?"

She was barely conscious, and all of her energy was bent into restoring her physical body before Second Death really did come for her. As she started cooling down, she took the Shinigami's hand. "Thank you for saving them. I owe you, Shinigami."

The Shinigami was almost embarrassed about being thanked by the Shibito. "Perhaps. But I think we can call it even. Ichigo saved me too."

Kasumi shook her head. "No. _I owe you._ Ichigo is my home, and you saved him. Karin, Yuzu, and papa too. Therefore, when you need saving, no matter how huge the operation, I'll be there to save you and protect you. All of the Shinigami and Hollows and Shibito may come for me..." The use of her reiatsu tired her out, and she slowly sank back into sleep.

Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair and sat back. "Of course Kasumi would hide something so big. It explains everything, except for why she didn't sense the Hollow last night." He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Oi, Rukia, go get my body. I'll take her to the clinic and tell dad she passed out in the middle of lunch or something. Her fever is making me uncomfortable."

Rukia watched the two. Ichigo reached his hand out, smoothing some of her hair from her face. She meant a lot to him, and he wasn't selling her out last night either. It was vice versa too. Her rage, pure and unadulterated, was the same as her grief of knowing her best friend had been condemned to something so terrible as this never ending war. She couldn't report this to the Soul Society for many reasons, but seeing the two of them now, she wasn't sure she would have even if she could. Sure, duty, honor, the treaty, they all dictated the need for her to report any unknown Shibito, but it was obvious this girl was more than what Rukia thought initially.

"You okay, Rukia?"

The Shinigami shook herself out of her thoughts. "Of course. I'll be back shortly."

* * *

Kasumi woke up sore. It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out what she had done to feel so bad, especially as she remembered the events that transpired before she passed out. Oh, Kisuke was going to rip her a new one for this. She sat up at the smell of something delicious downstairs. Tempted to grab some, she thought about dragging herself out of the comfortable bed to grab some of her own, but then she remembered she wasn't in her house.

And somewhere was walking up the stairs.

Kasumi laid back down, placing everything back to how it was and closed her eyes. It was an unfamiliar reiatsu, but the amount of it was recognizable after a few moments. The door to the bedroom opened, and she heard Ichigo sigh. "Jeez, Yuzu, she's not going to need to eat so much when she wakes up. She'll need to rest, but no one ever listens to me," he muttered to himself before knocking on his closet door. "Yo, Rukia, I have an extra bowl. You want it?"

The closet door slid open. "Why, thank you, Ichigo." There was a pause after a clink of bowls. She sucked a breath in before continuing, "I have to ask. Does she have a birthmark on the back of her neck? Close to her hair line? Because if she doesn't, there's a huge bruise you should be paying attention to. I noticed it earlier, but I thought your dad would see it. There's not any ice underneath her head, so I was wondering..."

"Birth mark on the back of her neck? There was, but it's been gone for a few years by now, and it wasn't anywhere close to her hair line. Hang on, let me take a look." Footsteps padded closer to her, and she forced herself to relax. Cold hands wrapped gently underneath her head and lifted it up. He muttered a few strings of curse words before walking towards the door again. "No. It's a bruise, but I don't know where she got it from. It wasn't while she was throwing you around like a ragdoll, I know that much."

"Excuse you, but I take offense to that!" The door all but slammed closed, and Ichigo's angry pace soon disappeared from hearing range. "You know, I can tell you're awake. It's convincing, really, but I saw you sit up earlier."

Kasumi sighed and sat up again. "Don't tell him?" she begged with a pleading expression. The Shinigami, Rukia, considered it for a moment before nodding. "I just didn't recognize the room at first, and his reiatsu has changed since you started sharing your Shinigami powers with him. I acted on instinct. But this would be a good way to figure out what he's thinking and gauge how much trouble I'll be in when he figures out I'm awake. I spent a good few hours trying to figure out where he was based off of his reiatsu when I woke up this morning. Makes sense now."

There was a crash followed by screaming downstairs. Rukia tilted her head, and the two listened intently but couldn't gather much from it. It was then Kasumi frowned and asked, "Uhh... Rukia?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you in Ichigo's closet? Because, you do realize this will have gay jokes, right?"

Rukia gaped like a fish before the footsteps closed in on them. Kasumi quickly laid back down, and Rukia pretended nothing happened. Ichigo entered and kicked his door closed. "Nothing?" Rukia must have nodded in affirmation. Again she felt the cool hand against her skin. "She's still burning up. Know anything about this that might help us get her better? I'm tired of Tatsuki calling me every half hour and say I'm just being selfish with Kasumi again."

Rukia popped the spoon out of her mouth. "Everyone kept saying that earlier today." In a fantastic imitation of Keigo, she started whining, "Aww, Ichigo, you keep Kasumi all to yourself and be so selfish with her, so how can you not know where she is? Waahhh! Wahhh! Wah wah!"

A stunned silence that had Kasumi hiding her grin. "That... was actually pretty good."

"Thank you." The words were said with pride.

Ichigo sighed and Kasumi felt her head lift up again before something dreadfully cold pressed against her bruise. With a surprised yelp, she rolled away from him and off the bed. "Ooowww..." she groaned from her landing site. The silence was positively suffocating as Ichigo stared suspiciously at Rukia, who pretended to know nothing, while stewing in his own anger, likely directed at Kasumi herself. "Ichi, why did you have to do that? Huh?"

The tick mark finally appeared, and she recognized the vein in his head that always popped when he was frustrated with Kasumi but didn't want to yell at her. "Why did you have to go and get yourself sick? Huh? You have any idea how worried I've been because of your-" Before he could get much further, Kasumi climbed back onto the bed and pressed her finger against the vein. It was enough he paused and stared at her hand, still so hot against his skin, too hot against him in fact.

With a smile, Kasumi asked, "Ichi, do you remember the first time you shouted at me?"

Of course he did. "Yeah. You kissed me on the cheek in first grade in front of everyone. The others started making fun of me for having a girlfriend and cooties, so I got mad at you and shouted at you." Looking back now it was stupid, but hindsight is always perfect vision. He was teased relentlessly about her friendly gesture, but the two had barely known each other for very long when she did it. He was embarrassed.

"Do you remember how bad you felt afterwards because I went out into the rain and played later on and caught a cold because of it?"

Warily, he questioned, "Where are you going with this?"

She smiled cheekily, laying back down on his bed. "You shouldn't get mad at me since I'm sick!" He gaped while Rukia was caught chuckling in the closet. Kasumi pointed her finger at the Shinigami. "Oh, and tell me when Shinigami finally comes out the closet. She should accept who she is."

The joke was enough to send them both sputtering. Before Ichigo could proceed with questioning her though, her breathing evened out and she was asleep just as before. He ran his hand through his hair again. Kasumi was capable of stressing him out to no end for the mere reason of she enjoys it. "And you're taking up my bed, you brat," he growled before pressing the ice pack against the swelling spot on the back of her neck. She recoiled in her sleep, but remained in the blissful darkness. Ichigo leaned back and rolled his neck and shoulders.

It was going to be a long night, but at least he knew Kasumi was safe. And vice versa.


	5. Chapter Five: Two Months

Kasumi was surprised at how much her family had grown over the last two months. Or, well, it would be two months in a week. It seemed like so little time for all the advancements that had occurred in the time frame. Orihime had abilities, Chad had abilities, Karin's abilities were growing splendidly, and she met a Quincy for the first time in her life. "Ichigo... Rukia... Orihime... Chad... Uryu... Karin... Yuzu... Papa..." she murmured, drawing the names out on her sheet of paper. She was supposed to be doing an assignment with Ichigo and Rukia, but they left on a Hollow alert.

A smile curved her lips. These people were all she would ever need. Eight names, eight people, eight reasons for her to fight and live. Her stormy eyes were soft as she fondly caressed the memories with each of these people so important to her in the past few weeks. She was so incredibly proud of each of them, this family that had practically doubled in size since her return. It was going so well it almost scared her. She had never gone through so much time where everything was completely perfect as it was now. Even if she had reason to fear Rukia leaving any day now.

"That's what we should do. We should go to a festival," she murmured to herself, picking her phone off from the ground and searching for the next date warranting such a large celebration. She always enjoyed them with the Kurosakis, so to have her entire family there at one time would be special. Hopefully there was one soon, for Rukia. Fate knew they needed the time to bond, to remind each other no one was alone in this.

Kasumi shifted ever so slightly, and a hiss left her lips at the pain in her side. She should have left her physical body to ensure the damage to her spiritual form wasn't getting worse. She had used her body as a physical shield for Rukia, not thinking twice about it, and she was regretting it on a minuscule level. Not protecting Rukia, but using her body as a shield. Sometimes she forgot she wasn't made of adamantium like Wolverine was.

It was late when the two returned, taking care of three Hollows during their absence. Rukia barely uttered a word to Kasumi, who had finished the homework and lounging around on Ichigo's bed instead of going to her mother's house, as she wearily treaded to the closet and crashed into bed nearly immediately. Ichigo, who had done the heavy lifting, was even worse. He unceremoniously dropped himself onto his bed, his head landing on Kasumi's stomach. She gave a grunt. "Jeez... you're so heavy now because of all the Hollow fighting," she muttered.

"As if. You're just getting weak from being out of commission for a week," Ichigo groaned back, still not in his physical body. Kasumi growled at him. "Shut up, you damn dog. I didn't ask for your opinion on getting yourself hurt."

"You're the one forbidding me from fighting, Ichigo," she retorted. He grunted his reply, and Kasumi settled in more. She stared up at the ceiling, managing to free one of her legs and both her arms from the carrot top. They were quiet for several minutes, and Kasumi started thinking about the festival. She should ask him about it. "Oi, Ichigo, you up?"

A groan. Kasumi was surprised by the intimacy of this position in that moment. She was wearing her casual clothes, so her crop top revealed her bare skin to him. His chin rested on that bare skin, though the rest of his head somehow stayed on the fabric of her shirt. She could feel him against her, harder than when she returned. Ichigo was gaining muscle, that hadn't been a lie. Instead of Kasumi being with her best friend, she felt as if she were with... a boy. The thought was enough to make her face burn, even as she tried to shake it away.

"I was thinking... Orihime and Chad, Uryu, Karin and Yuzu, they're all our family too, right?" He moved his head in an affirming motion. She smiled at the ceiling. "I was thinking, maybe we could go to the festival over the summer? Of course, if Rukia is still in the World of the Living, she'll be coming with us, and Papa should come to make sure Karin and Yuzu are alright when we the teens break off to do our own thing."

"Sure thing, Kasumi, but not with four eyes," he grumbled back eventually, lifting himself up and going to his body. He slid back in and went back to the bed, laying down on Kasumi again before she moved. A huff escaped her, but she settled into a somewhat comfortable position again before sliding her fingers into his hair. She would talk to him about it again later, and get him to agree to inviting Uryu. He was a Quincy, and he was every bit involved with the spiritual world as herself and Ichigo. He belonged with their little impromptu family.

Though she could see why the two didn't get along. Uryu had developed a bit of a crush on her after watching her take down a Hollow, and her flirtatious ways only succeeded in making him turn red almost every time she opened her mouth. It was nice to see someone respond to it with something other than confusion or irritation. In Ichigo's mind, she was his best friend, and no one was good enough for her. Least of all the pretentious Quincy who held a long standing hatred for Shinigami. Perhaps Ichigo would come around.

Her eyes closed, and she fell into a dream fantasizing the night they would have together.

* * *

Shichirou was no stranger to the second division, and his hands were idly spread about in his lover's dark locks. She was breathing softly against him, fast asleep as she would only ever be with him. Soi Fon-taicho was most usually uptight and suspicious, but she had never had a reason to be suspicious of Shichirou for anything other than his mischief, which were really just ways for him to get closer to the Onmitsukido commander. He wasn't quite sure when she had fallen for him along the way, but he was damn happy she did. He was in love with her the second he saw her while Yoruichi was still captain.

He lifted himself from their spot on the floor. Soi Fon had never been one for the bedroom, instead preferring the rough and tough floor in her living room. Shichirou found, after some time, why she enjoyed it the way she did. She wasn't soft, and neither was her lovemaking. Why pretend it was gentle on a bed when something of her nature was there already?

Of course, he didn't tell her his brother was still searching for him. Soi Fon never liked Rokoro from the very beginning. He stepped into the second division to meet with former captain Shihoin Yoruichi while Soi Fon was there. Shichirou followed his brother around everywhere during that time, so he met them that very same day. He was captured with Soi Fon, her protective and calculating gaze as well as her small and compact body, and he didn't like her watching Rokoro all the time when he was standing right there. If Soi Fon found out Rokoro wanted to see him again, he would have to tell her why.

The truth was, Shichirou didn't know why Rokoro was searching for him. But he had a suspicion about his brother, as he did with all of his brothers and even his sister. Of course, officially Rokoro was the only aside from Oshiro who was still alive among their brethren. But Shichirou was never someone who didn't like accepting facts without hard evidence. He understood a Shibito's body disappeared after their final death, but that didn't change Shichirou knew his brother was lying to him. Rokoro lied in front of Shichirou every day for over a hundred years. Had he really expected to lie to his younger brother and get away with it?

So until Rokoro could prove he wasn't a liar, Shichirou would avoid him like the plague.

He quickly wrote a note for Soi Fon, explaining he had to leave early for training with his seizon. Then he made a dash for the third squad barracks.

"Shichirou, you're late," a voice hummed from beside him.

It was true, and the blonde had no way to deny it.

Shichirou was not the only one who didn't believe Rokoro. Aizen-taicho, Gin-taicho, and Tousen-taicho were sure Rokoro was a liar as well, though they believed it for a different reason initially. Kuchiki Hisana had been on the mend, close to making a miracle recovery, when her health plummeted. Ordinarily, it might not have been taken to mean anything, but Aizen-taicho had always found the girl likable in his days of being fukutaicho. She had been hiding something before her sudden death, and it was mere convenience Rokoro visited mere hours before her health's sudden downturn?

No. It wasn't. And they needed to know the truth. Oshiro wasn't budging in his downtrodden prison, even if he had disappeared for five years before returning to the Seireitei and turning himself in. He said he had been hiding in the World of the Living, that Bumper, their sister, had been willingly keeping his presence a secret. And a meeting, kept only between Shichirou and Bumper, proved it to be false five years after Oshiro's return. She had no idea Oshiro had been in the World of the Living, and she was not someone who easily lied to Shichirou either.

"I know," was his simple reply.

Tousen-taicho made a move to step forward. "Oshiro still won't say a word, but we have managed to glean some sort of information from the network of humans in the World of the Living. According to them, a girl has been running around with a Shinigami and a Quincy in Karakura Town. Urahara has been keeping it quiet for the most part, though no one quite understands why anymore."

"I don't see what a girl has to do with this," Gin-taicho smiled.

"She's a Shibito," Tousen-taicho replied stiffly.

Shichirou paused and frowned, going through the list of locations in his head, the list he kept for reasons such as this. A Shibito in Karakura Town was not on record, and certainly not one who was well aware of being a Shibito. "There are no Shibito in Karakura Town. Kuchiki Rukia would have reported it by now if there were." Wouldn't she have? Surely. Kuchikis were the type to stick to their own beliefs, but this was the law. A Kuchiki always upheld the law unless there was another way. But the Shi Accords were explicit in their demand for _all_ Shibito to be recorded. "Unless..."

Aizen-taicho picked up, "She's with your brother, or there's been a form of miscommunication. Even after Kurosutchi-taicho's examination, he says there's no physical way for a Shibito to be there. It is possible no one knows of her because she's barely worth mentioning."

"The opposite, actually. The Shibito wears a limiter per Urahara's orders. She has never been seen without a golden bracelet. It's possible the limiter is hiding her from our sensors." Shichirou supposed it was plausible, and it would certainly explain how Urahara came into the fold. But what reason would there be to hide a Shibito, knowing it would break the Shi Accords? Urahara had already lost so much, so why risk even more? He was lucky to leave with his life the first time!

It was Gin-taicho who broke the silence. "Shichirou."

The blonde replied, "Yes?"

"Yuuma Oshiro was to be imprisoned for having relations with humans, a distinct no-no, but he disappeared before an initial arrest was made." They all knew this. "I recall you and Yuuma Rokoro stating limiters were used on second generation Shibito, ones that obtained the trait from a parent rather than through the anomaly most Shibito are born with. If Oshiro was having relations with humans, would it be possible he was able to procreate? Would it be reasonable to assume the girl is his daughter?"

At first, he wanted to say there was no chance in hell it was true, but then he started to really think about it. Oshiro was having relations with humans for damn near fifty years. Of course it was possible he procreated. After shooting into so many women, it was perfectly acceptable and reasonable for him to have sired a child during those fifty years, or even the five years he had been hiding in the World of the Living. "I'd feel bad for the woman who wound up with his bastard, but it would be safe assume."

It was a lot to think about. "The real question is where would his daughter fit into all of this," Tousen-taicho stated, adding even more to think about. Shichirou wasn't sure. Staring at the seizon at his waist, a longsword, Shichirou came to a very simple conclusion that could at least answer some of his questions.

He hated the idea, but Shichirou would have to pay his lying brother a visit.

* * *

The day before the two month-aversary of meeting Kuchiki Rukia, Ichigo becoming a temporary Shinigami, and Kasumi's secret being let out of the bag, she decided to eat lunch with her recent toy. Ishida Uryu was surprised when Takahashi Kasumi sat down in front of him, the jade haired girl taking enough of an interest to enjoy bothering him in the way she did. "I figured I'd eat lunch with someone handsome for once, so I chose you," she stated with a wink, folding her legs underneath her properly.

Uryu blushed immediately, hiding his face. "Aww, don't hide from me, Ishida. I like it when you get so red," Kasumi teased, leaning forward to poke his shoulder.

"Ah- Takahashi, don't you think- er, I mean-"

"Think what, Ishida?" she asked, sitting back and taking a bite of her burrito. They were easy to make and required little clean up. That and it was the only thing she was actually completely sure she could decently make. Her mother had never taught her, and she was too busy moving around the damn time to learn anything of real sustenance before returning to Karakura Town thanks to her grandparents.

He leaned back some as well, nibbling on his own lunch for a time, maybe a minute or two of which Kasumi's thunderstorm eyes contemplated the many ways to better perfect her burritos, before finishing, "Don't you think people will talk? I'm not exactly the warmest guy, and you're known for being flirtatious..."

It warmed Kasumi's heart to know he had such thoughts, but she shrugged with a laugh. "It's pathetic if they talk about something so innocent as two friends eating together. I eat with Ichigo all the time, but no one ever says anything about that." Finishing her burrito, she threw the trash into her pocket so she could remember it later. Seeing the troubled expression still on his face, she scolded, "Ishida Uryu, if I concerned myself with what others thought, I wouldn't have my hair color or wear crop tops. Don't worry about them."

If the Quincy was surprised, he didn't show it. Silence ensued as Kasumi busied herself with the threatening clouds above. "So... Shibito, huh?" Uryu asked.

"Mhm."

"I never was able to quite understand what a Shibito is."

"Is that your way of asking?" Kasumi responded with a smile. She sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright, don't badger me about it. A Shibito is a human who, by way of an anomaly still unidentified, can leave their living body at will, much like a Shinigami can leave their gigai. The anomaly variates, fluctuating with each year, but the one thing everyone seems to agree on is they saw the dead before First Death occurred, so it could be linked to reiatsu and reiryoku. Whatever it is, it grants us the ability to hone our reiatsu, usually to specific element from what the old lady said. My reiatsu, in specific, corresponds with lightning. My speed is significantly faster than most others, and I can give you one hell of a beat down so long as I don't overwork myself. At least until Second Death."

Uryu bit his lip in thought, connecting it to what he had seen the girl do. "And the axes on your back?"

"Eh?" Kasumi asked, lip jutting out in confusion before she remembered and looked over her shoulders as if they were there now. Uryu sweat dropped. "Well, ya see, they are called seizon. Supposedly they're a sort of power up for Shibito, like a zanpakuto for the Shinigami. I don't really know how they work, but I know they're completely weightless for me. But you couldn't lift them no matter how hard you tried."

"Interesting..." Uryu murmured before the two descended into silence again. Kasumi kept her gaze on the clouds, tilting her head every which way to get a new angle. Sometimes a dog would turn into a bull, or a flower would become into a coiled snake, or a glove would transform into the Loch Ness Monster. They were turning purple and agitated, making Kasumi feel right at home. She always loved the rain, and now she was able to understand why.

The bell rang, and Kasumi leaned down to plant a kiss on Uryu's cheek. His cheeks heated up even more as she turned away and left with a skip in her step. The Quincy had a smile on his lips as he knew exactly why he liked Kasumi. She was beautiful, sure, but she was also someone who took other people's feelings into consideration as well. She needed to be entertained constantly, but she always kept her promises. She was sometimes vague and always tried to carry the weight of the world, but it was because Takahashi Kasumi was capable of holding it above her shoulders. The secrets, the hate, the love, the good and the bad, she could carry all of it.

He just hoped she wasn't going to fall without someone there to take it from her for a while.

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia supposed she should have known a Shinigami would be coming to look for her. It had been far too long since she reported back in, and the Seireitei might have been able to chalk it up to just being to damn busy, but Rukia was taking too long in that department too. While the Onmitsukido operative wasn't on orders to kill her just yet, it could change at any given second.

Which was, perhaps, why she was afraid of him. The tremor of her body told her as much, even if the feeling in the pit of her stomach was unfamiliar to her after so many years of not feeling it. She supposed she should have seen this end coming, at least to a certain extent. Life here in the World of the Living had been too bright, too kind, too... good to last. Because Rukia was not someone who deserved such goodness for any reason whatsoever. She was a terrible person with blood on her hands, and to die a death as pathetic as the one to be delivered was what she deserved.

"You act as if I'm here to kill you. I can assure you those are not my orders, nor will they be. A noble assassinated by the Onmitsukido? No, that just wouldn't do, Kuchiki Rukia," the Shinigami stated, his sword still sheathed and his entire body relaxed. It didn't ease her tension, which was surely what his goal had been. "I just need to know what's taking so long. You're obviously not leaving the Gotei 13, or I wouldn't have been able to find you here. Although, it is fishy you're using such a complex gigai."

Rukia wasn't quite sure where he was going with the words he uttered. Did he already know or was he making an educated guess? Was he trying to get Rukia to admit what she'd done? Was he waiting for something? "There have been... complications. I'm still in the process of completing the mission, and I'll report back to my captain soon. There's no need for the Onmitsukido to be here."

"Well, isn't that just interesting..."

The voice belonged to somebody Rukia had not sensed until that very moment. Her words were accompanied by a fresh taste of her reiatsu, a crackling sensation rolling over Rukia's tongue. Both of the Shinigami looked up to see the jade haired teen standing in the tree above. Her expression is stone, unreadable without knowing the language properly. "You know, Shinigami, you should know by now just how well to do a reconnaissance mission. You see her; you see she's fine; you go home. Saves me some time," she drawled, arms crossed over her chest.

"And you must be...?"

 _Please don't,_ Rukia begged internally, _so I don't have to watch them torture you. You're in violation of the Shi Accords, surely you know that even if you don't know how you are or why you are. Please, Kasumi..._

As though hearing her plea, the girl shrugged her shoulder. "Just a classmate of Rukia. No one of great import, unless you piss me off." She dropped to the ground, landing lithely and standing up straight once more. "Of course, you wouldn't know exactly how to piss me off, so I'll forgive you this once. Get out of Karakura Town and go back to your cesspit."

Rukia flinched at the words, but Kasumi's gaze never faltered. She never let up or allowed it to seem as though she knew Rukia was hurt by those words. It was the ultimate mask she put on, and no one was cracking it. Not even a veteran Onmitsukido operative.

But even Rukia was unable to keep up any impression when the Shinigami attacked Kasumi. A swift punch meant to knock the Shibito out was dodged completely, and she used his velocity to ram him into the tree she had been standing in. It worked merely because she had been underestimated. But the gesture sent warmth down into Rukia's stomach. Takahashi Kasumi cared enough to fight a Shinigami for Rukia? It was a terrifyingly happy feeling.

Until the hits started to connect and she started to slow down. The difference in power was painfully obvious, so incredibly wide, it was laughable. The operative was making a joke of her as he toyed with her, baiting her this way and that. Kasumi didn't always fall for it, but the operative had not know she had a plan as well. Rukia only knew her plan because Rukia was close to Kasumi.

Kasumi walked away with her life, mostly unscathed, and the operative walked away with his. Rukia followed Kasumi, even as they saw the Quincy waiting for them in the middle of the sidewalk.


End file.
